There is a certain kind of video that stops you mid-scroll, and TikTok user AK 49 just delivered one of the best examples in recent memory. The clip starts innocently enough, with a Cybertruck hauling a large boat up a hill and away from the water. For a few seconds, it looks like proof that Tesla’s polarizing pickup can actually do the one thing every truck buyer expects it to do.
Then the camera pulls back.
Turns out the Cybertruck was not doing the towing at all. It was being towed itself, by a Ram pickup, which was towing the Cybertruck, which was towing the boat. A three-vehicle conga line with the electric truck sandwiched in the middle, doing essentially nothing but adding weight to the whole operation. It is the kind of reveal that makes you rewind the video just to confirm you saw what you think you saw.
The comment section had a field day, and honestly, they earned it. One of the better lines floating around sums it up nicely: it is the best Ram commercial anyone has made in years, since the Ram is technically towing a boat and a Cybertruck at the same time. Several people admitted they were fooled for a moment too, thinking they had finally stumbled on the rare footage of a Cybertruck actually pulling something on its own, only to realize a few seconds later it was just another entry in the long line of Cybertruck videos where the truck is the punchline rather than the hero.
“For a second, I thought I’d seen the rare cyber truck that could actually do something useful,” joked one viewer.
We will admit this one made us laugh out loud, and given how consistent the pattern has become online, it felt worth digging into why the Cybertruck keeps ending up on the wrong end of these jokes.
What the Cybertruck Is Actually Rated to Tow
@user4043937299344♬ The Good, the Bad and the Ugly – Main Theme (Cut Version) – Ennio Morricone
On paper, the Cybertruck is not a slouch. The rear-wheel-drive version is rated to tow up to 7,500 pounds, while the all-wheel-drive and Cyberbeast trims are rated at up to 11,000 pounds. Those numbers, once the higher price cut, put it roughly in line with the Ford F-150 Lightning and ahead of most other electric trucks, though well short of what a diesel-powered heavy-duty truck can handle.
So no, this is not a truck that is incapable of towing a boat. A boat and trailer weighing a few thousand pounds is well within its limits on paper.
Why the Reputation Took a Hit Anyway
The trouble is the gap between the spec sheet and the real world. Multiple independent tests have shown that towing anywhere near the Cybertruck’s max rating can chop its range by 40 to 60 percent, sometimes more depending on speed, wind, and terrain. One well-documented range test towing an electric camper saw the truck’s range fall to around 160 miles, less than half of what it does unloaded. For a truck that is already asking owners to plan around charging stops, that kind of drop makes long tow days a real headache.
Then there is the hitch itself. A stress test by a well-known YouTube channel put roughly 10,000 pounds of downward force directly on the Cybertruck’s hitch, and the rear section of the aluminum frame separated from the truck entirely. A similar test on an older Ram pickup left the hitch fully intact. Cast aluminum is great for keeping weight down, but it has not exactly inspired confidence in the towing department.
The Meme Wrote Itself
Put those two things together, an underwhelming real-world towing experience and a frame that has shown its limits under pressure, and you get exactly the kind of internet folklore this video plays into. People were not just laughing at a funny edit. They were laughing because it lined up perfectly with what a lot of folks already believed about the truck.
Whether or not that reputation is entirely fair, the Cybertruck has certainly given the internet plenty of material to work with, and clips like this one are not going away anytime soon.
Nah, I own a Ram truck and hate the cyber truck, but there is a splice in the video. For the first few seconds there is no rope attached to the front of the Tesla, then after the splice you can see the rope.
The Tesla is doing the work in the first few frames.